Student and Teacher
by whoyoutalkinabout
Summary: Forced back to the Tower after his fifth failed attempt to escape the Chantry-influenced templars' grasp, Anders seeks the help of a young mage by the name of Solona Amell. Promising her aid in her own escape plans if she agrees to teach him how to shape shift. Determined to live a free woman, Solona and Anders create a pure platonic pact. But is it all platonic? AndersAmellCullen


**Student and Teacher**

_by: whoyoutalkinabout_

Note: This story couldn't have been made possible without the great _pommibee_'s help. I dedicated this story to her and all the other fans that love Dragon Age and

Warden!Amell. Enjoy!

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Chapter One: The Hole in the Wall

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She had seen him in the tower before. The ever rule-defiant Anders had conversed with Jowan a number of times in the past yet she had never had the pleasure of meeting his acquaintance herself. She had knowledge of his infamous reputation though. Many of the female apprentices chided happily to each other about their personal experiences with the self-indulgent mage. It wasn't uncommon for mages to seek out others in a time of sexual need, in fact nearly every mage went through a stage where they couldn't bear to go to bed without the warmth of a late night companion with them. Others couldn't bear the temptation of satisfying their needs behind a bookcase in the Circle library. Solona had stumbled upon a female couple, once, they had been so enraptured in pleasuring themselves that they had hardly noticed her. Only until she accidentally tripped on the corner of the bottom of the bookshelf, that had successfully concealed them up to that point, did they notice her. Face red, Solona scurried away with haste when they willingly opted that she join in on their fun.

Solona had even seen Anders and a young blonde apprentice whispering goodbyes to each other as they tried to emerge discreetly from the Tower's larder. It had been early in the morning when she had ventured down, she liked her peace and quiet while she ate her breakfast. The kitchen tranquil didn't have a problem with her finding some grub for herself, seeing as she was one of the few people that were always up and about at four in the morning. The little blonde girl ran away giggling and blushing as she hurried her way down the stony corridors; desperately trying to get back in bed before anyone could catch her out from her designated area. Anders caught a glimpse of Solona from the corner of his eye and he turned to smirk at her. Solona blushed as her cheeks puffed in annoyance. His wink towards her made her scoff and leave the dining area in an embarrassed huff. She didn't want to eat knowing well enough there may have been a certain _mess _near or even _on_ the food she had wanted to eat.

Not much was mentioned about Anders after that incident. Rumor had it that he had attempted his fifth escape and, for the time being, was successful. Life went on in the Circle and the usual happenings continued to flow through the stone walls. Jowan had been avoiding her a couple of times throughout the day, which was suspicious. And the templar, Cullen, had been running away from her. Every time she would enter a room, and if he had been in the same room, he would quickly scurry out and leave everyone staring after him. And when she would see him in the hallway, and try to wave or say hi, he'd scurry off again. Solona worried that she might have done something to upset the young, timid templar but she didn't let it bother her much.

Two months passed when word got out that Anders was recaptured and had been brought back to the Circle a few nights ago. Solona had been studying up on her primal spells with two of her class acquaintances, Johanna and Seltie, when they had started gossiping about Anders' fifth return.

"Did you hear? Anders is back!" Seltie whispered gleefully to the redhead sitting next to her. Johanna smiled happily in response.

"Really? That's great to hear," she giggled back. Solona rose an eyebrow at the two.

"You two know him?" she asked, hardly surprised. The two gossiping apprentices smirked at her, causing butterflies to rise in her stomach. And not the good kind.

"Of course," Johanna said smug. She checked her appearance in a small mirror inside her pocket-sized make-up kit. Solona inwardly rolled her eyes at the vain girl. She would always taunt Solona about her supposed 'superior' looks to her own but Solona knew that was just her way of getting back at her. Solona had always been a little more gifted when it came to her spell casting. It wasn't her fault per say. As long as she could remember, she had always been able control her spells exceptionally well. Whether it was freezing a blazing fire spell or casting a blot of lightning to an inanimate target, she would cast her spells just right. Johanna and a couple of the other apprentices had just become jealous towards her once First Enchanter Irving took Solona under his wing and appointed her to his personal apprentice. Even Jowan had become a little hostile at times. Maybe that was why he was always leaving her. Maybe he had become angry at her for that. Not that it was her fault. It wasn't as if she asked Irving to become his apprentice. It just happened.

"He's so handsome," Seltie commented dreamily, "he promised me a special meeting before he escaped, if you know what I mean," she waved her skinny black eyebrows at the two girls. Solona snorted jokingly at her.

"Maybe you should get back to him on that rein check," Johanna smirked at Seltie. Who, in return, giggled profusely.

"I heard he was put in solitary confinement for a year," Solona chimed in.

"What?" Seltie asked surprised. Johanna's own dark green eyes widened at the sudden news. Solona blushed at the sudden adamant attention.

"I heard Cornell and Savannah talking about it. They said that Greagoir sentenced him to a year of solitary confinement without any personal contact. And apparently he's only allowed to wear the clothes on his back and get a bath once every month,"

"What about food?" Seltie asked.

"I think they said they'll give him food regularly. But I'm sure it's not going to be a rump roast dinner with cabbage and roasted potatoes," Solona informed. Seltie gave out a disappointed sigh.

"Aw, and I wanted to hop into his arms the next time I saw him. Guess I can't now," she grumbled as she crossed her arms. Johanna shook her head, disappointed.

"He should've never escaped that last time. He should've just stayed here like the rest of us," she deadpanned, resting her thin face on her manicured hand. Solona stared at the redhead. Did she honestly feel that way? Didn't she ever wish to escape the tower?

"You don't want to leave?" Solona asked in a hushed tone. Johanna glared at the brunette that sat across from her.

"Of course I do," she retorted hotly, "but I'm not about to put my life in danger. Anders has been lucky with all of his punishments. What if he escapes again? What do you think they'll do to him if they catch him again?"

"I," Solona stammered searching her head for a realistic answer. She found none, "I don't know,"

"Exactly," Johanna sighed, "I'm not happy about being trapped in this gilded cage like some bird but I know I'm safe as long as I'm in here. Sure the templars are a pain but they protect us from the demons that inhabit weak-willed mages. I'd rather be on their good side than their bad side,"

"Is a mage ever on a templar's good side?" Seltie whispered. Making the three girls silent. Solona sighed as she stood herself up from her seat at the library table.

"I think I'm gonna turn in," she said as she gathered her books. Seltie nodded and gave a quick 'goodnight'. Johanna waved a dainty hand in her direction and Solona nodded a farewell at the two girls. Making her way out of the library, she headed down the corridor to the apprentice-quarters to get a good night's sleep. Irving had informed her that her Harrowing was nearly upon her and she wanted to be ready at any moment for when the time came. Meaning less social time and more studying and practicing. Solona passed Cullen on her way to the dorm room she shared with countless other mages and was surprised when he didn't stumble away. It would have been polite to smile or wave his way yet she was afraid he would actually run if she did so. Clutching her belongings closer to her, Solona hurriedly made her way past the shy templar and shut the door.

* * *

Solona awoke late in the night. The covers to her bed were wrapped lovingly around her bodice and she wanted to stay in the confines of her warm blankets. Her filled bladder had a different opinion. Sighing quietly to herself, Solona shifted slowly in her bed. Cursing the persistent ruffling of the covers as she tried to not wake her sleeping companions. The only light source was the dim candle light out in the hallway and Solona felt fortunate for having gotten a sleeping area near the door. Her breathing hitched every once in a while as the sudden creak of her bed or shuffle of her clothes, making her worried that she had woken a peaceful dreamer. Hearing no sounds of a disturbed soul, she let her eyes adjust to the darkness in order to find her slippers. Once found, she slipped them on and silently tip-toed her way to the cracked door.

Brows furrowing at the loud creaking the door made as she forced it to open wider, Solona peered out with curious, chocolate brown eyes and searched for any sign of activity. Mages weren't allowed out after hours, yet some still found ways to secretly meet one another for some fun times in the dark. It was a surprise, really, since it was easier to meet up with a sex partner than to actually go to the bathroom at night. If a mage had to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night, they'd have to be escorted to and back from the lavatories. Solona had gone through the ritual a couple times and after the third awkward escort, she made it her own personal rule to go before bed. Unfortunately, she forgot that rule earlier that night.

Her full lips pursed at the discomfort of her bladder protesting against her movements and tried to hold it in. Head peaking out, she saw a snoring templar slumped on the wall next to the lit torch next to the door. Said templar kept his helmet off and Solona inwardly groaned at the identity of the on-duty templar. It was Ser Warrick, one of the templars the female mages had to watch out for. He was known for making girls extremely uncomfortable and always tried to get them into trouble on purpose. Some even said he had advanced himself forcefully on some of the apprentices. Solona didn't want to think of what he would do to her if she woke him from his peaceful sleep. And the fact that he would have to follow her to the lavatory did nothing to her worried nerves.

A loud moan sounded from the right end of the dark corridor and Solona's heart raced at the sudden noise. Letting out a shaky breath, she quickly reverted her head into the room and straightened herself up on the wall. She had prayed that Ser Warrick was still asleep, afraid that she'd actually ask to relieve herself if he was awake. Hearing a loud snore come from the hall, Solona peered out again and let out a happy sigh of relief when she noticed the templar was still asleep. Even though the loud moan had nearly blown her cover she was glad to know that even that loud noise hadn't disturbed Ser Warrick. Her cheeks flushed into a dark pink hue at the realization that it had been a _moan _to break the silence. Nonetheless, Solona built up the courage to go to the bathroom on her own. She didn't need an escort, she could handle going to the bathroom just fine.

Stepping out into the dark hallway she closed the door slightly, making sure it resembled the way it looked when everyone had gone to bed. That way if Ser Warrick happened to wake from his slumber, that Greagoir would surely have his head if he found out he was sleeping on the job, it would seem like nothing was out of place. Solona quickly and quietly tip-toed down the stone hallway; passing a door that was left ajar where familiar moans sounded from inside. No need in wondering where the one from earlier had originated. A few doors down and to the left was the girls lavatory. Thanking the maker when the door kept quiet as she opened it.

The bathroom was cold as always and Solona gave a slight roll of her shoulders as a chilly shiver ran up her spine. There were only four stalls in the apprentice-quarter bathroom. There were more on the upper floors of the Tower but Solona didn't dare venture upstairs this late at night. There was no telling how many templars or which templars were on guard and she had no ambition of getting caught out of her dorms without an escort.

The first stall hadn't been cleaned and looked as if it was clogged with numerous amounts of toilet paper. The second stall had a spell cast upon it. The girls usually pulled pranks like this often. The more advanced mages would place a spell on a stall and depending on the spell, numerous outcomes could occur for a poor soul that unknowingly ventured into a tampered stall. Sighing, Solona went to the fourth and final stall. There was no use checking the third stall, for every girl knew that it was the one stall where templars could peek through a crack in the wall and watch the girls go to the bathroom. Sure it was late at nigh but Solona didn't want to take any chances. Just in case there was a templar near the peep-hole who had heard her walk into the bathroom and was eagerly waiting to see if she would use the third stall. Not many usually went in that stall but there were always those new apprentices that didn't know about it. Not until the older girls told them about it or they had found out about the templars the hard way. Solona had been proud of herself when a new girl had almost gone into the third stall.

"The templars can peek at us in that one," she said, pointing to the third stall. The girl's bright round eyes widened and her cheeks flushed knowing she would have been oblivious to the perverted men watching her. Solona smiled a sympathetic smile at the girl and directed her to the second stall once the person originally occupying it came out.

Smiling at the memory, Solona cleaned up after herself and used the bucket of water to flush the contents in the toilet bowl down the pipe that led the daily wastes away from the tower. She hadn't a clue where all those wastes went but she honestly didn't want to think about the other mages' bodily bile. Using the sink to wash her hands, Solona looked into the mirror above where the sink was situated. Her brown hair had gotten long since she last cut it.

"When was the last time I cut it?" she asked herself. Chuckling nervously at the fact that she had just talked to herself, Solona walked out and breathed slowly. She needed to be as quiet as when she traveled to the bathroom and venturing back should be no different. Reminding herself to be light on her toes Solona made her way out of the lavatory and back into the hallway. As she was walking quietly, a weathered built in stone caught her sharp eye. The reddish hue of the familiar brick stood out like a sore thumb amongst the other bleak grey ones. She knew that brick too well.

It became part of her routine to have a break while alternating between regular classes and Irving's personal one-on-one training sessions. Earlier when Solona's training first began, she had been on her free time hour when she came across a loose stone in the wall. The same reddish stone seemed as if it had been removed from the wall years earlier however the person who could have originally stumbled upon the secret opening must've died, lost interest, or became tranquil. That or the builders of the Circle Tower just weren't that thorough with encasing their bricks.

When she first came across it Solona had been disappointed that the surrounding blocks weren't as loose as the red one. She had hoped to have an opening large enough for her entire body to fit through with ease. That way she could escape into a private setting without anyone bothering her. However it had seemed impossible at the time. That was until she had come across an old book that had revealed the hidden magic of shape-shifting. Finding that secret opening had given her the determination to learn the art of shape-shifting. If she was able to shift into a small animal or creature she'd be able to fit through the opening.

That determination had often made her stay up late nights learning about shifting into small creatures. It had proved to be worth it though. Solona had been successful with her shape-shifting abilities one day when she wanted to sneak into the larder late at night for a drink. It had been a weird experience at first but with time she had gotten used to shifting. It took a few moments for her form to change into the animals she had equipped via the tattered magic book but the benefits always outweighed the lag in the amount of time it took to shape-shift. From that point on she had always shifted into a small mouse when she was able to have a break. Due to her Harrowing being foretold to her nearly half-a-year ago, she had had less time to herself. Thus being unable to escape through the small hole in the wall for the time being.

She wondered if anyone had come across it during that sixth month period yet prayed that they didn't. Did it still lead into the basement where no one usually entered? Solona sure hoped so. A certain nerve made Solona itch to shape-shift once again. She was alone for the time being and thankfully shape-shifting uttered no sounds when the spell was cast. If Irving or anyone found out that she could shape-shift, she'd surely be made tranquil. It was said that shape-shifting was forbidden amongst mages but since she was able to control her magic so well, she had been able to conceal it successfully for almost a year now. If she kept her hidden ability for this long she was sure she would be able to keep it secret for years to come.

Solona smirked mischievously, the excitement of sneaking throughout the Tower, without having to worry about templars yet still having the chance of getting caught, sent adrenaline coursing through her veins. A squeal nearly escaped her smirking lips. Clasping a hand over her mouth, Solona lowered into a crouch and worked the red brick out of the wall.

* * *

The sound of stone grinding against stone caused Ander's hand to falter as he scraped profanities concerning templars and the chantry on the stone wall. His long blonde hair gently flowed into his eyes as his head swiveled to look for the origin of the noise. During the struggle for his recapture, his hair tie became undone and left his hair flowing out about his shoulders. The darkness of the basement did nothing to help him find the source of the noise. The bastards who had built this forsaken tower had neglected to put any lighting down in the basement causing Ander's eyesight to be strained. From what his hearing could gather it seemed that the noise was coming from the wall to the side of where his cell was. They hadn't gotten around to building a solitary confinement room so the templars had placed him down in one of the basement storage rooms. It had bars built in so it certainly felt like a prison cell.

Suddenly a glimpse of white light emerged through a small opening in the wall and Anders rubbed his eyes, questioning their accurateness. Soon after the light had flashed, a small brown mouse squeaked its way through the hole and scurried down to the floor. Said mouse hurried over to a more spacious area in the basement and the white flash lit the basement again.

Anders shielded his eyes, the brightness of the sudden light proving to be too bright for his strained eyes. When he opened his eyes next, he had been momentarily surprised to see an apprentice's back turned to him. The young female apprentice had medium length hair, the color unidentifiable to him, and she wore the standard mage-apprentice, blue robe. Said apprentice shrugged her shoulders back and gave a content sigh as Anders heard her back crack.

The young woman hummed a merry tune to herself as she swiped a hand through her hair. Anders stepped closer towards the bars in an attempt to get a better look at the girl. She had quite the posterior, if he said so himself, and her hind-quarters seemed to benefit greatly from being locked in a tall tower for many years. Honestly though, he was surprised that an apprentice had learned the shape-shifting ability. Even he didn't know how to shape-shift. The apprentice started to continue onwards farther into the basement when Anders panicked. He had had no human contact since he was forced back to the circle five nights ago, this was the one chance he'd probably get to converse with another person.

He grunted towards the girl and inwardly chuckled as she jumped, startled at the sudden noise. Whipping around, Anders squinted to try and get a more vivid look at the girl's face. Something seemed vaguely familiar about her, he just didn't know what. A hushed gasp sounded from her throat.

"Hey," Anders started meekly. He hadn't realized how dry his throat had been, "think you can keep an escapee some company?" The apprentice said nothing. "Or not," Anders sighed as he pressed his forehead in between the skinny bars.

"You're Anders," she whispered. Anders lifted his face up towards the girl, blond eyebrow raised. Did he know this girl from before? Or was his reputation really getting around within the Circle? He guessed that it was the latter.

"It seems that is true," he chuckled at her realization. The scowl on her face made him worried though, "is something wrong?"

"You're supposed to be in solitary confinement," she said.

"Where do you think I am now?" he snorted.

"You're in the storage basement," she deadpanned. Anders smirked at the darkened silhouette of the young woman. Touché.

"Yes well, you see, they don't really have a solitary confinement room built so they stuck me here for the time being," Anders explained. He swiped a pale, calloused hand through his greasy blond hair. He wondered when his monthly shower would be.

"Hmm," the girl hummed back at him. A moment of silence filled the room before the girl started to cast the same shape-shifting spell she had used to get down here. "Wait!" Anders exclaimed with a low voice. The unknown apprentice jumped at his exclamation towards her. She momentarily stopped her spell casting and Anders took that as a good sign. However, he was at a loss for words. "Um, so, what's your name?" he asked sheepishly. From what he could see, he saw a thin dark brow raise in confusion.

"My name? You want to know my name?" she asked skeptically. Anders rolled his eyes at the question. Would he have asked if he didn't?

"Well, you know mine why not know yours?"

Again the mage said nothing. Anders inwardly groaned at the quiet woman that stood warily across from him. He might have been more comfortable if she had just left him alone yet he couldn't bare the thought of being left alone again. Her voice broke him from his thoughts.

"It's Amell. Solona Amell," she informed. He blinked up at her with surprise. Irving's often gossiped about and one of his most prized apprentice had been the one to stumble across him? And she had been the one to shape-shift. Anders smirked at this snippet of valuable information.

"Ah, so you're Irving's famous apprentice huh?"

"Famous?" she asked.

"You don't know?" Anders feigned concerned, earning him a slight glare from Dantae. "People have been talking about you for a while. You're quite famous if I recall correctly,"

"I see," Solona breathed out, "but it's not as if you're not famous,"

"Oh really? Do a lot of people actually know that much about me?"

"More like your reputation with the female mages," she bit back. Anders scratched at the growing hair along his jaw.

"Ah, I figured it was that. Oh well. Hey you were about to shape-shift just then, weren't you?"

"Wh-what? N-no! I wasn't," Solona stammered panicky.

"Yes you were," Anders sang in a childish tone. Solona's cheeks puffed in anger as she crossed her arms. The image of her made Anders suddenly remember where he had seen the girl before. "Wait,"

"What?" she growled.

"You're that girl that is always watching me with the other apprentices," Anders stated. Even in the dark basement, he could tell that Solona's face had suddenly flushed with embarrassment.

"What?" she nearly shouted, "I've never watched you with the other apprentices!" she retorted.

"Oh? Then how is it that nearly everywhere I went, _you_ were always there?"

"That's, I…uh, that's just a co-coincidence! I had and still have no intention of watching anyone do _that_!" she defended hotly. Anders chuckled at the agitated woman.

"Sure you didn't," Anders chided, "I promise not to tell,"

"Ugh!" she grunted angrily, "How on earth did the others stand to be around you, let alone sleep with you?" she rhetorically asked.

"If you hadn't noticed already, it's pretty obvious that my body is just radiating with heavenly beauty,"

"Oh, wonderful. You're a horny pervert _and_ you're in love with yourself, typical," Solona growled as she lightly stomped her way over to the opening in the wall.

"Wait, stop," Anders pleaded, "where are you going?" he asked taking her arm in a tight hold. She tried wrenching it out of his grasp yet it only made him tighten his hold on her.

"I am leaving!" she exclaimed harshly.

"No, please, don't. Stay,"

"And why should I?"

"Because,"

"Because _why_?"

"Because I'm awesome?" Anders smirked at her. The urge to laugh at her annoyed face was almost unbearable.

"Goodbye Anders!" she growled as she cast the shape-shifting spell onto herself. In mere seconds she went from being a human to a small brown mouse. As Solona scurried away in her mouse form, with what Anders could make out as angry squeaking, he smirked at her as she crawled through the hole and shifted into her human form once again. She bent down so that her face could be seen through the opening.

"Hmmf!" she scoffed in a hushed tone. Stone grinded against stone once again as she forced the block back into the wall. And even after she had placed the brick with the rest of the stone blocks, he couldn't help but stare at where her face had contorted into a snarl at him. Hopefully she'd come back around, talking with her sounded like it would be a fun way to spend his days in solitary confinement. Plus if she knew the techniques behind shape-shifting, maybe he could get her to teach him. That way the templars wouldn't be expecting his next escape, nor know where he was since he'd be transformed into a different species. Smirking at the sudden realization, Anders had more reason to pray that Solona would crawl through to him again. If she did wind up visiting him again, he hoped it'd be real soon. He could only stand being alone for so long. Yet he knew that sooner or later she'd be back, they always came back to Anders.

* * *

**I hope you guys liked it! :) I know it's slow but it'll get juicier, I promise! **

**Please review! **

**-wytb**


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